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AT&T faces a Trumpworld reality check

The ouster of AT&T's top lobbyist caught DC telecom insiders by surprise and underscored that even the most well-oiled Washington machine isn't immune to inadvertent entanglement with Trumpworld scandal.

In theory, this sort of story shouldn’t factor in to a judge’s decision in a merger case —and current speculation is that the judge is likely to rule in AT&T's favor. But it seems the company thought that keeping the status quo was too risky. “Someone at AT&T is worried that Judge Leon was seeing the headlines,” said a telecom industry source. “Why else would you so publicly force out your head of government relations?” The shake-up certainly won’t cripple AT&T’s DC operations. But it's disorienting for its almost 100-person team at a time when clear direction is crucial.